AN: thanks to Rudy Pena and Just a crazy-man for the beta's
From the biography of General Samantha Carter-O'Neill: 'Astrophysics & Deep space telemetry'.
Once we returned to Caprica we heard the good news. The Dominion fleet was destroyed alright. The next group of inbound Dominion ships was a week out, but we'd be unable to counter it. We also took a final tally; we lost six 305's and nine 304's. A steep price, but considering what they were up against it could have been much worse.
The public reaction to the coup was mixed. Some were angry, others were happy. The biggest surprise were the senate and House of Representatives, they called for a vote to impeach Kealty. It passed and new elections were called for by them, instead of the Joint Chiefs.
Three months later elections were held. John Patrick Ryan, a former marine, CIA analyst and NSA adviser to President Durling. Ryan was running as an independent, not a member of any of the larger parties. He was admired by all parties for simply trying to do what was right, not what would gain him the most political power. Because of this, the voters believed in him, he wouldn't get stuck in the old ways of politics. Because of his former life he knew how to run intelligence and the military, he understood them better than any other president could, which suited the joint chiefs just fine.
Speaking of the joint chiefs, the day President Ryan was sworn in they offered him their resignation, he refused them all, saying the military needed experience, not political correctness.
I also moved back to my R&D, President Ryan immediately doubled the military budget, including R&D. within the next six months we came up with several new designs. First was a drone, a copy of the Ancient drones, though less powerful and not as able to penetrate shields, it still packed a hell of a punch, and above all it could be controlled by mind. Second, since we had a drone we needed a new ship, one designed with the space requirements for the storage of massive numbers of drones. This new ship was called a drone carrier and was designated DC-308. The next was the CVZ-309, an honest to god aircraft carrier, with the Z standing for ZPM. Considering the losses would get higher and higher, and possibly even to high for the Tau'ri federation, we designed it with a new fighter in mind. It was already decided we would buy the Viper mk 8B design from the Colonials, and together with them we would design the mk9. Another fighter was the DF-310, a drone fighter, controlled by terminals aboard the carrier. Because there was no need for a pilot and systems required keeping that pilot alive, construction was cheaper, quicker and the fighter was also smaller. The DF-310 was nicknamed the Falcon, after the small and fierce bird. Both the Falcon and Viper would be present aboard the CVZ-309.
It would take a while before any of the new ships would become active, but construction had already started at several shipyards.
In the Pegasus galaxy, General Sheppard had his hands full; a month after the invasion of the Milky Way the Dominion fleet arrived in the Ida and Pegasus galaxies. The Asgard would fight the enemy in the Ida galaxy, while the Tau'ri and Pegasus allies would fight the Dominion there. Sheppard only had one battleship squadron, but his fleet was augmented by the Aurora fleet and Traveler ships which were heavily improved after the Wraith war. His aurora fleet consisted of the four Aurora's found in the Cau system and the Tria which was recovered from the void. All Aurora's had full drone magazines due to the Tau'ri's ability to produce ancient technology in limited numbers.
In preparation for any potential attack, the midway station was expanded and powerful defenses were added. Six trios of turrets were placed around the station. The station was also surrounded by a dozen MDBP's. This was only the garrison force, and usually there were several ships docked.
The Dominion followed a different strategy in the Pegasus galaxy, they sent in a total of 22 battle groups, spread out over a wide front. They were more on a killing spree then a conquest; they searched out populated planets and destroyed them before moving on to the next. They didn't really form a front line which made it easier for Sheppard to attack them, but also prevented them from slowing down the entire invasion. The Pegasus fleet didn't have enough ships to be present everywhere. Therefore they had decided that every habited planet with less than a hundred thousand inhabitants was to be evacuated and only planets that counted more than a hundred thousand would be defended in force. For the Pegasus galaxy there were few world counting more than a hundred thousand inhabitants. Those who did usually evaded the Wraith somehow or were already refugee worlds from the Wraith attacks.
Bridge, TFS Tria
Near M4X-997
November 14, 2023
The Tria, as well as the other four aurora's in the group were upgraded with the latest Ancient and Asgard technology. Their drones and ancient plasma weaponry was augmented by three beam turrets just like the 305 sported. The Traveler ships were also upgraded with regular Asgard beams like the 304's sported, and rail guns, which was something that remained on all Tau'ri ships.
"Sir, the Willem Barentz has confirmed that Battle group 12 is heading for M4X-997 and will arrive in twenty minutes."
"Thank god we stayed around after our last tangle with them." The commander of the Tria said. The commander was actually a General, namely General Ellis. Ellis was one of the few brigadier or lieutenant generals that carrier the ETA gene, which was essential for operation of the Aurora fleet.
Instead of asking the man what else the Willem Barentz had reported he accessed the communication logs where he quickly found the message. He scanned through it mentally and found what he needed. They hadn't recovered from the last fight and were at about sixty percent strength. If he was lucky he could close the books on this group forever after he'd send them to a flashy death.
M4X-997 was a quite populated planet with nearly 14 million inhabitants, only about half were refugees, the other half managed to grow because of an Ancient defense system. Ellis sent the order for the five aurora's to make the short hyperspace journey to the planet. He also did a quick check on the drone supply. An average of 70 percent was more than enough.
Within minutes the aurora's arrived at the planet. A request for additional information was sent to the Willem Barentz. The Willem Barentz was a LCS-306 ship assigned to shadow battle group 12. Each battle group had a shadow, either a 306, or a converted Traveler ship.
The Aurora's deployed several swarms of drones in advance of the arrival of the Dominion. They didn't have to wait for long.
Only minutes after the Aurora's arrived, the Dominion fleet arrived as well. About forty ships exited hyperspace, nine battle cruisers, twelve cruisers and nineteen escorts.
The drones were quick to strike. Four escorts, a cruiser and even a battle cruiser were severely damaged or destroyed. Additional swarms were launched just as the Dominion started firing back. The Aurora's weren't really maneuverable in a battle against superior numbers. Additional weapons were activated on the Aurora's and they quickly added to the bombardment already ongoing by the drones.
The bridge of each Aurora was silent beside the weapons fire, which was muted. Everyone was controlling his or her station with a brain link. For General Ellis it was magnificent. He had a complete overview of the battle, in HD as it were, and every time something noticeable happened a popup showed what exactly happened.
For the first few minutes it really seemed like a one-sided fight. The Aurora's used their drones for targeting Dominion plasma charges, something regular weapons couldn't do, but a drone could. Eventually the Dominion fleet started to flank the Aurora's making them divide their fire power. The Dominion finally started to make a dent on the shields of the Aurora's. However, the Aurora's were on a roll. Despite the enemy being spread out they still managed to systematically eradicate the Dominion fleet.
They received some help in the form of a battle cruiser, the Pericles, and two Traveler warships. They quickly set to take out some of the smaller ships that kept harassing the Aurora's.
Aboard the Tria Ellis was violently brought back to reality. A power conduit had exploded right outside the bridge and was filling up the bridge with smoke created by a fire. The blast resistant doors were also damaged and could not close properly. DC teams were already on their way to put out the fire and repair any essential systems. In the meantime the bridge doors had to be closed manually. As some of the crewmembers closed the door, the rest used the consoles to continue operations.
The weapons fire from the Tria slacked off a bit, but not too much.
"The remains are attempting to retreat." A lieutenant reported.
"Full ahead, take them out. Tell the Pericles to cut them off and keep them busy until we get there." Ellis ordered.
The Aurora's started to chase the retreating Dominion ships. They left dozens of wrecks behind while some were trailing debris as they tried to escape. The Pericles, though normally unable to take on the amount of ships coming her way, took them on and held them off for a few minutes while the five Aurora's cached up to them and took them out.
"The enemy fleet has been destroyed sir, we are victorious."
"Today anyways. Have Intel search the debris for anything useful. Send a message to PEGCOM informing them that we have taken out Dominion Bravo Gamma 12."
War Cabinet Meeting
Conference room, Atlantis
November 21, 10:00 hours
Ever since President Ryan was elected to office he regularly met with the War cabinet. In comparison to previous war cabinets his was quite large, 15 people. This included the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the secretaries for defense, Treasury and State, the Directors of the TFBI, the TFCIA and the TFSA(Tau'ri Federation Security Agency), and the president and his Chief of staff. Depending on the urgency the cabinet usually met every week or so.
"General O'Neill." The Secretary of State started. "I received a report from your R&D director detailing the possibilities of lending our allies technological support. Would you care to explain?"
"Yes sir. The idea is a sort of Lend-Lease. For well known reasons we can't give the Colonials and Jaffa our most advanced Asgard based technology. We can however share some downgraded technology. I have already spoken to Thor about it and he seems willing to agree with it. It would mean we give them the blueprints and support to construct the weapons and shields we had around 2010. This way we won't risk our current allies turning on us in the future with our own weapons but they will be a lot stronger."
"And who will be eligible for this support?" Ryan asked.
"The Free Jaffa and the Colonials for starters. We should also create a committee to determine other requests for help. This committee should consist of several Tau'ri and Asgard. We do need to limit the technology to those within the Alliance; otherwise we can't supervise the use of the weapons."
"In that case I expect a detailed report within a week. I'll see that it is pushed through Congress." Ryan said. "What else?"
"Sir, we have confirmation on the arrival of three more Mother ships in the galaxy, as well as fourteen battle groups, just last week." Ed Foley, Director of the TFCIA reported. "We have detailed information on all Dominion fleet movements and are coordinating with SUB FLT COM for wolf pack strikes against supply convoys."
"Yesterday, the first Dominion scout ships were spotted near the Cau system. So far it seems that they do not know about the system or our base there." O'Neill said.
"What will be the first important planet to be hit?" Ryan asked.
"A FJN planet, it has mostly been evacuated. It was a former shipbuilding planet for Yu, but lost most of its importance once the nearby naquadah mines ran dry. Since the establishment of the Alliance and the trade it had been in business again." O'Neill said. "The FJN will put up a token defense but most of the industry has been evacuated as well as the population."
"And what'll be hit next?"
"Well nothing really until the Dominion reaches the Aschen territories and the Colonies."
"We can't hold those planets, can we?"
"The Aschen territories are lost. We are currently trying to evacuate them to the evacuation planets but we will only be able to get between 4 and 10 percent off before the Dominion hit. Until then the evacuation fleet is too busy ferrying other civilizations to safety." The secretary of State said. The evacuation fleet was made up by most remaining Ori warships; they had been converted to transports instead of warships because it would be just too costly.
"The Colonies are preparing to fight. As you know the Colonial home system, the Cyrannus system, exists out of four systems. Right now most people live in the Helios Alpha system, especially since the second Cylon war. The Helios Gamma system was nearly completely wiped out safe for Scorpia, but it only has around 400 million inhabitants and the Scorpia shipyards. The Helios Beta system, containing the planets Virgon and Leonis came out pretty safe but is deemed indefensible and will have to be evacuated. The third system, Helios Delta has no defensible positions against an enemy like the Dominion." O'Neill said.
"Ragnar will serve as a hidden repair base for the fleet, and will also facilitate communications in case the Alpha system is somehow jammed. In addition, the Alpha system has an asteroid belt which can be used to establish a perimeter as all planets are located between the belt and the sun. The Colonies have already established several refugee planets on the far side of the galaxy. The Alpha system also houses Caprica, their seat of government, Picon with its fleet HQ and the Colonies of Tauron and Gemenon, the latter was nuked into oblivion during the Cylon war, but with the help of the Asgard over fifty percent has been made habitable again, which will help evacuating all other planets."
"As far as I know the Colonial government hasn't started this evacuation have they?" Ryan asked.
"No, not yet, but they have indicated that they will announce their plans shortly which will also sign its start." The Secretary of state said.
"I could imagine such a revelation would cause quite a shitstorm." Ryan said.
"Yes it probably will. The Colonials have asked us to make a statement giving their plan full support and also military aid when the time comes." State said.
"We already agreed to that, but if they want us to reaffirm our commitment to their defense we will gladly do so. Perhaps we can use the statement to announce the deployment of the eight army and the 21st Army group HQ, the former Aschen territories group to the colonies." Ryan said. The Eight Army would be pulled off from Terra Nuevo, the planet would only be defended by a fleet but it did not possess a large enough population to justify a ground defense. The planet would be lost.
"General O'Neill, How are things going in the Pegasus galaxy?"
"Quite well." O'Neill responded. He also uploaded a file to the war room's servers. "The file I just uploaded is General Sheppard's weekly status report. So far he has made quite some casualties and we can already notice that the Dominion are getting frustrated. The Dominion can't send any reinforcements to the Pegasus galaxy because they know we are building up strength and we will clash one day. The same goes for the Ida galaxy by the way. The way things are going we'll have fewer losses and we'll have finished the Dominion campaigns in the Pegasus and Ida galaxies in time to transfer significant amounts of ships and troops to the Milky Way galaxy.
Colonial Government press room
Caprica City, Colony of Caprica
November 25
"Ladies and Gentlemen, all rise for the President of the Twelve Colonies." someone announced.
The president walked up. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the press and my fellow citizens. Today I dread to announce to you our plan for survival. For weeks, months, even years you have been asking me and my predecessor what we, the Colonial government would do to preserve the Colonial way of live. As some of you have already suspected we cannot defend all the colonies. Our military might is simply not great enough. Our only chance to continue our way of live is to concentrate on one system, and evacuate the rest to new colonies on the other end of the galaxy. For the last several years we've been working together with the Tau'ri to fortify the Helios Alpha system and set up three evacuation planets named Bravo, Delta and Gamma, after the three systems we have to abandon. This will not serve as a divide between all our separate colonies."
"Our military, together with the Tau'ri's and that of the Alliance will fight to the extreme to defend this system. Already the Tau'ri have committed a sizable part of their fleet to our defense as well as a large number of their defense platforms. Our hope is that in the end we have defended this system with such ferocity that the Dominion won't even bother to try and take it, or risk stalling the rest of their advance."
"I understand you are all disappointed. When I took office I promised, with the gods as my witness, to protect all the colonies to the best of my abilities. So have our fighting men and women in the armed services. It pains me that we will lose the other colonies, but it is our only way for survival. We have to be realistic. This war is greater than us alone. It is greater than this galaxy or even this galactic cluster. We have to be glad we can prepare for these events. We can, and we will evacuate every citizen to a safer place."
"Therefore, from today and onwards a state of Martial Law exists in the twelve colonies of Kobol. Evacuations are mandatory. For those who will remain in the Cyrannus system, a general conscription for everyone between the ages of 18 and 25, for an unspecified time is in effect as of now. There will be a total economic mobilization, the Tau'ri have created a law that will permit them to share more advanced technology with us and the Free Jaffa. Beside the upgrades to our current ships we will continue building more battlestars. We will also turn Caprica, Geminon, Picon and Tauron into fortresses, city wide shields, Tau'ri operated Ancient defense systems and the likes."
"Despite the fact that a large part of our population will be displaced for about 80.000 Light-years we will remain one nation. We will continue to fight the Dominion and we will help the Alliance to one day throw out the Dominion and liberate not only our own planets, but all those that are occupied by the Dominion."
"Please remember, that for the last several years, basically since the discovery of the Dominion we have been planning this fight. Together with the Tau'ri and the Alliance we have set up a galaxy wide strategy for dealing with the Dominion. We have done all we could have done to prepare ourselves, and now we can only continue to train and prepare for someday, rather soon possibly, this war will come to our doorsteps." The president said. After a moment of flashing photographers it was over and she walked off.
Behind the stage she was greeted by Vice Admiral Adama. "Good job Laura."
"Thanks Bill." Laura Roslin said. "When are you leaving?"
"Groups 62 and 75 will depart in six hours. We'll be heading for a confrontation with the Dominion scout forces heading in our direction. We'll do anything to slow them down." Adama said. Ever since the Second Cylon war, the two had been involved with each other. Although nothing ever got official they were as much a couple as they could be.
"Be Careful."
"I will. You too." They kissed goodbye and Adama went to catch his Raptor ride up to the Galactica. He still refused to trade in the Galactica for the newer battlestar Tjolver (BSG-75) as his flagship. The Tjolver was a new battlestar and named after the Asgard who stood up for his principles and that way got the Asgard involved in the Cylon war, probably saving the Colonials from heavier losses. The Tjolver was part of the Kobol class battlestars, the newest of the newest. Since the end of the Cylon war over forty of these battlestars had been constructed and they were rapidly replacing the technological inferior Atlantia's and Mercury's, which spent half their time in dry dock being upgraded.
The 62nd and 75th groups made up the fighting part of the fourth Colonial Fleet. A total of nine battlestars carried some of the most experienced commanders and crew of the entire fleet. They were like his family. His son, now Rear Admiral Adama commanded the 62nd battlestar group from aboard the Pegasus (BSG-62), while Commander Thrace was the proud commander of the Tjolver and even though she was not his blood, he considered her the daughter he never had. Fact was that nearly 60 percent of all senior personnel within the forth fleet had at one point served under Adama's command. Other commanders included Commander Shawk of the Valkyrie (BSG-75), Commander Kretz of the Atlantia (BSG-75), Commander Tomlinsen of the Andara (BSG-75), Commander Birger of the Olympia (BSG-62), Commander Thyrnae of the Vicious (BSG-62) and Commander Sorcyntus of the Remembrance (BSG-62).
122 LY Core wards from the Cau system
CIC, Battlestar Galactica, BSG-75, 4th fleet
"Admiral, the raptors confirm the size and disposition of the Dominion scout group, four destroyers and a light cruiser, about one light year away."
"Calculate FTL jump coordinates. Set condition one throughout the fleet. Prepare for combat the moment we exit the jump."
Jump
"Launch alert Vipers."
All nine battlestars had exited the jump in combat formation, surrounding the five Dominion ships. The launch tubes towards the Dominion ships launched vipers equipped with missiles while the other side launched vipers equipped for fighter combat. Immediately the ships' guns fired away. Plasma, missiles and lead was flung at the Dominion shields.
Not much later the vipers added to it all with their missiles and guns. Unprepared to an attack two Dominion destroyers were quickly overwhelmed and were destroyed. The other three warships were able to raise their shields and eventually return fire. Though each Dominion warship had a quite capable armament they did rely on superior numbers to win a battle, and now that they were outnumbered, they were doomed.
The nine battlestars started circling the remaining Dominion ships. This offensive formation was seen as the most effective formation when the Colonials had superior numbers. It allowed for a large broadside to be delivered, almost continuously.
Therefore, it wasn't really surprising that the Fourth fleet could count themselves another victory richer.
CIC, TFS Davy's Locker (LCS-306)
Near Cau system
The Davy's Locker was part of Wolf Pack 2, a total of 7 Wolf Packs operated out of the Cau base. Each Wolf Pack consisted of 6 ships.
"Colonel, Telemetry confirms fourteen troop carriers, six munitions ships and four escorts. They seem to be heading for the main fleet base in the sector."
"Any word from the commander?"
"The Pack will leave in five minutes, estimated time to combat in about nineteen minutes."
Aboard a LCS in a Wolf Pack a lieutenant-colonel was the highest ranking officer. A Wolf Pack was commanded by a commander.
"Set condition one and prepare for combat, once done copy to the commander."
Nineteen minutes later
The six ships exited hyperspace. They didn't waste any time and fired straight away. Instead of targeting the Dominion warships they went for where they could do the most damage in the least amount of time. The troop transports were barely protected by shields and were favorite targets. The munitions ships were a little bit better protected, though could not be compared to real warships.
The Davy's Locker exited in the center of the formation and sped forwards at max sub light. They were lucky as there was a troop transport straight in front of them. Its three Asgard plasma weapons fired away creating holes in the shields and damaging the hull. After the first salvo troop compartments were vented into space and hundreds, perhaps thousands of Dominion warriors were killed in the vacuum of space.
Railguns all across the ship engaged other targets as they passed by. Light damage was done to two other ships before they had to end their pass. They turned around to make another pass. This time the troop transport was finished off, while another troop transport was seriously damaged. By the time they finished the second run they were taking serious fire and the commander ordered them all to bug out.
40 LY core wards from the Cau system
CIC, TFS Davy's Locker
The six ships from Wolf Pack 2 had all returned to the rally point. Figures were in and it looked pretty good.
"Sir, eight transport ships destroyed, three others damaged, all three munitions ships were destroyed as well. We lost no ships although one ship had an overload which killed fourteen." A lieutenant reported.
"That's almost as good as can be."
A console started beeping heavily.
"What's that ensign?" The Colonel asked.
"Sir, we're picking up massive hyperspace disturbances."
"Dominion?"
"Must be. But they're not heading for their Fleet base."
"Where then?"
"The middle of nowhere sir. Wherever they're heading it has no planet or other objects."
"Cross check it with Alliance ship deployments." The colonel said.
"On it sir." The ensign tapped away at his console and a few minutes later he got the results. "Sir, the Colonial Fourth Fleet recently attacked a Dominion scout force there. I'm uncertain if they are still there but that is the only thing of worth there."
"Get on the line with the Commander; we need to warn the Fourth fleet."
120 LY Core wards from the Cau system
CIC, Battlestar Galactica, BSG-75, 4th fleet
The Admiral and his XO were doing the post op reports. They looked up as they saw some people come through the hatch. Namely three persons, one carrying a camera, another carrying a sound boom and the third led the other two straight down to the Admiral.
"I'll be damned." Adama muttered.
"What the frack?" Tigh replied.
"Admiral Adama?"
"Who the hell are you?"
"Admiral, I'm Marlene Aubernack from the Colonial Broadcast Services. The Admiralty allowed me and my crew to make a documentary about the fleet already engaged with the Dominion."
"Ah… I heard about you guys. Ready to…" Tigh said.
"Colonel." Adama warned his XO.
"Admiral, from what I heard and saw I can only assume we were victorious."
"That's correct."
"Could you tell me something about the battle? How hard was it? What where our casualties?"
"Hmph." Tigh snorted. "It was a one sided slaughter."
"We took down five Dominion vessels that were part of a recon group. Because of our superior numbers and tactics we were able to destroy the scouts without many casualties."
"Admiral, I don't know how much specifics you have on the defense plan but what chance do you give it?"
"If it works we will have a reasonable chance. We'll sustain heavy casualties for sure. But with the help from our allies we will have a fair chance to survive."
"Nevertheless the government is evacuating billions of people to the other end of the galaxy."
"Of course we are. We shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket. As in life, in war there are no certainties and we also need to be prepared in case we cannot hold the Dominion back."
"Admiral! We're receiving a priority message from Tau'ri wolf pack 2."
"What does it say?" Adama asked.
Before the lieutenant could respond the DRADIS console started beeping and only seconds later the ship was hit hard.
"DRADIS alert! Dominion fleet right on top of us."
"Launch all vipers, establish defense barrier and get us in a defensive formation!" Adama ordered.
"It's a mother ship with escorts!" Tigh said after he had a look at the DRADIS console.
"Cancel the Viper Launch and get the alert Vipers back aboard. Prepare for an emergency jump." Adama ordered.
"Recovering the launched Vipers will take up to two minutes sir."
"Order all ships to initiate emergency jump now, we will take all the vipers and then we will jump." Adama said. "Turn Galactica away from the Dominion fleet, Flank speed, let's increase the distance."
Around that time the CBS girl tried to interrupt. "Admiral."
"Shut the frack up or I'll have you thrown in the brig." Adama said.
First to jump was the Andara; it was soon followed by the Vicious, Olympus, Valkyrie and Remembrance. After some debating the Atlantia and Pegasus also left leaving only the Tjolver and Galactica.
"The Tjolver hasn't left yet sir."
"Get me Tjolver Actual." Adama said as he picked up a phone.
"Starbuck you have your fracking orders, now jump your ship the frack out."
"With all due respect Admiral, your shields suck, mine are top notch."
"Which is exactly why we will need your ship later on. Besides, if that mother ship brings its main weaponry to bear neither of our ships will survive for very long." Adama said. As Thrace didn't respond he continued. "Therefore you will jump out and I will recover our vipers, we don't leave a man behind."
By the time the two were about done the last viper had crossed the threshold and was secured on the deck. Within seconds both battlestars jumped out.
Cimmeria
December 2, 2023
17:22 hours
As the war raged on in the galaxy, Cimmeria was also in the path of the Dominion advance. Already months in advance diplomatic teams had arrived at the planet in order to get them to agree with a resettlement. Because they didn't want to ruin the Cimmerians believes they had to pretend they were emissaries of the Asgard and that they had ordered them to evacuate. A problem arose when they came to the point of resettlement. They couldn't just be redeployed to any refugee world, because their believes and their culture would be crushed. Therefore they were relocated to a planet which was divided, kind of like a wild life reserve, the territory they would get was not large but it was sufficient to sustain them and it was suitable to their culture. Historians and social researchers had worked together with engineers to make the buildings match those on Cimmeria itself.
The 45.000 inhabitants of Cimmeria and the two light infantry brigades that occupied Cimmeria were in the process of evacuating. The civilians would go first, after which the soldiers would depart. Even though the Tau'ri tried to maintain the culture of the Cimmerians they did need to protect them. Therefore it was decided that two light infantry brigades, which didn't poses anything scary like vehicles or airplanes were to be garrisoned on the planet. The Cimmerians knew about their existence but never came to the army barracks. The soldiers regularly visited the Cimmerians and had good contacts with them.
All of the Cimmerians were evacuated by ship, and not just some Tau'ri made transports, but real Asgard Chariots, AKA Beliskner class warships. Most of the Beliskners were old and outdated, unable to compete with the much newer O'Neill II warships and were subsequently retired. Fortunately the Tau'ri were able to get the Asgard willing to turn a couple over to them for among others evacuating planets from the PPT.
Because of the increased threat and evacuation a company of soldiers was permanently resided in the main village near the stargate. Today, another ship was lifting off with a load of civilians aboard. Only one load was left and they would be picked up the next morning. After that three Tau'ri transport ships would come and pick up the Tau'ri forces and evacuate their camps. One platoon guarded the stargate while two others were helping the Cimmerians evacuate and the fourth was patrolling the outlying villages for anyone who wanted to stay behind.
At the stargate first platoon guarded the area. One squad was at the stargate itself, while the rest of the platoon was on over watch duty in the immediate area. The stargate usually opened twice a day for regular checks and the likes. Today, the stargate opened up for the third time. The soldiers were immediately on their guard but didn't expect any Dominion activity, there was after all no reason to expect it, and it wasn't Dominion routine.
So when four Dominion warriors walked through the puddle their reaction was delayed a few seconds. A few seconds which were fatal. The twelve men were quickly hit by deadly Dominion plasma shots. The four Dominion warriors stepped forwards to allow other warriors to come through and immediately came under fire from the rest of the platoon, which had gone into defensive positions. The first four were quickly killed, but the time needed to penetrate the armor of the warriors allowed for twelve others to get through and find cover.
The lieutenant of first platoon quickly realized that the situation was getting out of control and radioed his leader for reinforcements. Within minutes the other three platoons were on their way to the stargate, while the rest of the battalion started on their journey to the stargate as well. Meanwhile, because of the distance to the stargate all other forces were made ready for deployment.
Two hundred meters form the stargate, Lieutenant Jackson commanded his platoon in combat. He had established effective fields of fire; heavy machine guns were laying down fire on the stargate, cutting down over half the Dominion warriors that got through. The riflemen cut down any Dominion that was out of cover for more than a few seconds. RPG equipped soldiers and soldiers with grenade launchers did their best to reduce all possibilities for cover. What worried him was the Dominion forces here contacting the other Dominion on the other side of the wormhole. He had seen over a dozen warriors sacrifice themselves in order to protect another warrior with much more decoration. This warrior was in good cover and therefore nearly untouchable.
What troubled him was that he had sustained quite some casualties. Beside the twelve men at the stargate he had lost another six while about a dozen or so had to be evacuated because of the injuries sustained. So far he knew the rest of his platoon had been injured in one way or another. He himself could only use his right hand because a wood splinter had pierced his left after a tree had exploded from a hit by a Dominion plasma rifle. Because of this it meant he could kill less Dominion and the Dominion were quickly advancing.
He couldn't retreat, he was located on top of a hill and to reach the next bit of good cover he would have to cover four hundred meters of open land, with the Dominion hot on his ass, such a thing would be impossible without cover fire. He had to wait for another platoon to arrive and then evacuate his wounded after which the still mobile forces could retreat under the cover fire of a third platoon. There was however one problem with that, he had no idea when the other platoons would arrive and the Dominion were already ducked down at about 50 meters from his position.
All around him little pieces of dirt and rock were thrown around as Dominion weapons fire impacted against it. His soldiers were under fire as well and were taking quite a beating. Nevertheless, they returned fire and managed to inflict heavy casualties. His soldiers were equipped with the standard M-700 assault rifle but also more traditional earth weapons such as M249's, M9's, M82's and many more.
"Command, this is Lieutenant Jackson of first platoon. I really need some support now."
"Lieutenant Jackson, this is Eagle six, second and third platoon are five minutes out, Mortar cover will be established in thirty seconds. UAV cover is online."
"That may not be in time, we're on the verge of being overrun."
"Just hang in there son, help will be there shortly."
"Copy." Jackson said. It was all he could say; arguing wasn't going to get the reinforcements there quicker.
He heard the first mortars coming in. they were air exploding mortars, though considering the tough armor the Dominion used it wasn't always effective. Nevertheless, like medieval knights there were enough holes in their armor for the small splinters to get through and cause some damage. At least it slowed the Dominion down and allowed him to take a peak over the large boulders he was hiding behind.
From the gate all up to the positions of his soldiers the ground was covered with dead and dying Dominion soldiers. More and more mortar rounds exploded, now there were also some regular mortars tearing apart bodies and the likes. He brought his rifle up to the edge and aimed carefully for an advancing soldier, he aimed for the neck, one of the places that were weak on armor and deadly at the same time. He snapped off two shots and instantly killed the soldier. He quickly switched to another, much closer target which was also advancing on his position and fired off a dozen shots before taking cover again.
He could hear the extra weapons fire fly over his head as he ducked down. His communications specialist beside him had his shoulder in a bandage and was sitting on the ground. He took a tablet screen and downloaded the stream from the UAV overhead. The UAV showed Dominion forces streaming out of the gate and also a large group advancing behind the gate, where his troops seemed to have been overrun. He seriously considered sounding the retreat, but his wounded soldiers wouldn't be able to get far and be mowed down before they crossed the open ground behind their positions.
He used one of the cameras to search for the other platoons that should be close by. He found them quickly and saw that they were only a minute or so away, they only had to cross the open ground between his position and the tree line on the other side. He brought the camera back to the stargate and searched for the Dominion commander he had seen earlier. He quickly found him ducked behind a bunch of boulders communicating with someone. It gave him an idea and he quickly communicated with his superiors. Soon enough he had targeted the commander with a laser beam from the UAV and someone else launched a guided missile. It first made its way up before moving horizontally and eventually straight down on the commanders head.
The explosion devastated a wide area, or so it seemed. But when the smoke cleared he could see the commander still there, apparently protected by a small portable shield. All the explosion did was clear the area of a lot of dead and some cover. Fortunately another platoon reached his position.
"Lieutenant Jackson, what's the situation?" Lieutenant Anderson, Platoon Leader of 2nd platoon asked.
"The southern flank is gone, the rest is in shambles and needs to be evacuated, Can you provide cover?"
"Yeah sure, we'll keep 'em off while you get your guys out of here and once we get the message you're safe we'll fall back under cover from third platoon.
14th Light infantry Brigade HQ
13 miles from the Stargate
"Sir, First and second platoon have been withdrawn; we no longer have a direct line of sight on the stargate." A lieutenant reported to Brigadier General Paul Pearson. Pearson was the commanding officer of the 14th Light Infantry Brigade and because he had seniority over Brigadier General Laura Weitz of the 44th Light Infantry Brigade he also commanded all troops on Cimmeria.
"What are our casualties?" Pearson asked.
"Twenty four dead, forty wounded of which twelve serious. Sir, when will the reinforcements arrive?" The Lieutenant asked after a slight delay.
"They won't. In two days our transports will arrive, along with a 304 and a few 306's to cover our withdrawal." Pearson said. "Until then we need to hold out."
"It'll get messy for sure."
"Yeah, but we're infantry, we'll survive. As long as the skies stay clear we'll get out of this."
"And the civilians?"
"We'll secure them in the shelters. If need be, we'll blow the entrances and the 304 will beam them out in two days."
A private came up to Pearson and saluted him. As Pearson returned the salute the soldier started talking. "Sir, third battalion reports about a hundred civvies hold up at Thor's Hall of Wisdom, their main temple and the Dominion force is rapidly closing in."
"Why haven't they left?"
"They think Thor will come and rescue them in his chariot and if they leave he might not find them." The private explained. "Sir, the Dominion are really close and might be there within five minutes."
Pearson consulted the maps that showed where his units and those of the Dominion were located. "Have third battalion send their reserve company to get them all out, drag them if need be but I want them out of there, I don't need a massacre this early on."
Near Thor's Hall of Wisdom
As the soldiers of H-company neared the temple they heard screams and Dominion weapons fire. The first troops rushed forwards taking out the few dominion outside the temple. Apparently they had caught the advanced guard on a little killing spree while taking a rest. While most of the company created a perimeter around the temple about thirty soldiers took up positions near the entrances. At a command they blew the doors and stormed in. most of the civilians were on their knees praying to Thor. The Dominion were taking their time executing the civilians one by one. In total about a dozen Dominion were present, they were quickly killed and the civilians secured.
The Lieutenant in charge walked to the front of the temple and took off his helmet. "People, I need you all to prepare to leave this temple and head for our base. It is not safe here anymore and it is not a request, it is an order." A few started protesting but the lieutenant didn't listen to them. Outside he reported to his captain who was about to order second platoon to secure the way back to their lines when Dominion weapons fire impacted all around them. They both ducked down and took cover. Around them the other soldiers took cover as well and started returning fire. Around the temple a low stone wall created a natural perimeter for the troops.
"First platoon; take the east side, head of the brunt of the attack! Second platoon, south and west side. Third platoon north side and put some men in that tower. Fourth platoon try to get to our own lines to prep for an evacuation of the civvies." The Captain quickly ordered.
The soldiers tried as well as they could to execute the orders but were hindered by the constant fire overhead. For the next ten minutes the soldiers fought back and eventually they all reached their designated positions. Fourth platoon tried multiple times to reach their own lines but were constantly cut off by Dominion forces. After an hour of intense fire the Dominion forces ceased their attacks on the soldiers and established a strong perimeter.
As night felt the Dominion tried time after time to overrun the defenders but were unable to do so. Throughout the night the defenders clearly had the advantage due to their night vision goggles. The Dominion did posses their own kind of night vision but it was quite vulnerable to tracer rounds fired by machine guns.
In the morning the dominion resumed their attack with vigor. During the night they apparently had managed to bring in some artillery and armor. During the Dominion attack, which seemed to focus on the troops at the church, long range laser guided mortars were sued to take down the Dominion armor. It took a few hits since every tank was equipped with a moderate shield. Eventually the tanks were taken out, but the damage was done. Large parts of the defenses created were blown away and dozens were dead or wounded. The temple itself had sustained quite some damage as well.
Under the cover of the tanks, Dominion warriors could advance almost unopposed and only after intense hand-to-hand combat were the Dominion forces repealed. Eventually over half the company was taken out and things didn't look good. Water and rations were running out as well as ammunition for weapons still using bullets. Even worse, the medicines were running out. In the absence of a surgeon, the best they could do was use nanite stimulation packages which would temporarily keep a patient alive.
"Captain." A Private said as he crawled into the foxhole his CO had occupied.
"What is it?"
"We may have found a way out. During the shelling a certain part was opened up and we've found a secret passageway. The local minister translated the writing and it says it lead to an old monastery about fourteen miles away."
"How big is it?"
"Not so large, single file. But it has some sort of sled that can be pulled by someone from the other side, or so it seems."
"Alright, thanks. Tell the civvies to prepare for departure." The Captain said.
The captain contacted HQ and found out that the monastery was still under their control. Minutes later they found out that the tunnel was in fact working and could be used. Immediately the civilians were sent in as well as the wounded. Unfortunately the dead would be left behind.
Midway station
April 12, 2024
Sheppard resided in his office, a place he'd rather not be. His current guest was his good friend Ronon Dex. Ever since the Tau'ri's return to the Pegasus galaxy Ronon had been in command of a Tau'ri Special Forces group specialized in sabotage and behind the lines warfare. Together with a flotilla of specialized 306's and jumpers he had managed to wreck havoc behind enemy lines. His current rank was lieutenant Colonel and he refused to take a promotion, fearing the bureaucracy would take all his time away. Nevertheless, there wasn't much work for him anymore in the Pegasus Galaxy. Mere days ago the last Dominion group was taken down while they attempted an invasion of a major alliance member's home world. Only just now had the ascended been able to confirm that all Dominion forces were routed from the galaxy and no more were underway.
"Look Sheppard, I'm not taking a desk job." Ronon said for the umpteenth time.
"It's not a desk job!" Sheppard responded in kind. "All you think I want for you is a desk job. But in fact, a desk job is what you'll get if you stay here. If you take the promotion and become an instructor you can go out with the men as much as you want, on occasion you'll probably see combat but you will still have all the adventure. Some of your skills, such as tracking are desperately needed in the Milky Way galaxy. Furthermore, I am positive that you will be assigned an assistant who will deal with all the paperwork." Sheppard paused for a minute as he walked through his office. "Hell, I'll make it a part of the deal if you want me to; high command is so interested in your skills that they are more than willing to get you an assistant. And if they don't, I'll come and be your assistant." Sheppard joked.
"Can I have that on paper?"
"Yeah sure Chewie."
"Okay, I'll do it."
"Thanks Ronon." Sheppard said as he led his friend to the door. His next appointment was already waiting for him. "General Ellis. Come in." Sheppard said as he did the thumbs up to his secretary.
"General." Ellis responded. He walked into the office and joined Sheppard near a window overseeing the docks of the midway station.
The docks were packed, only hours ago General Ellis' Aurora fleet had arrived and the five ships were safely anchored at a specially designed pier near the outskirts of the dock. Also present were a battleship squadron and several cruiser groups as well as several 306's. Some more ships were present, mostly traveler ships but also a ha'tak and even a battlestar. Also present was a group of transports carrying over forty thousand marines from the first and sixth marine divisions. On the piers there were dozens of fighters and transports strapped down.
"Impressive isn't it?" Sheppard said. "I still get the chills when I look at it all. You know, if we had all that twenty years ago, the Wraith would never have risen to power and done so much destruction. And all those people we have lost would still be here."
"Yeah. But honestly, without the Wraith we wouldn't have had the need for those 305's and we'd be fighting the Dominion with 304's."
"True." Sheppard replied. "But on to why you are here. You probably haven't heard yet and news hasn't broke out, but the Dominion made an attack on the Colonies."
"Now already? I thought they wouldn't attack until somewhere in October, November?"
"So did we. But apparently they found out about the evacuation and decided it was time to make a mess of it. The attacked the planets that were still in the process of being evacuated. Casualties are high and the Colonials are scared to death about another attack. Therefore President Ryan has decided to send in the fleet ahead of schedule. All you see out there will go straight to the Colonies. The bulk of our evacuation fleet will also be sent in to help speed up the evacuation."
"Christ, what have the ancients said about it?"
"Nothing, they somehow can't say anything about it and that worries me. Nevertheless, it's quite simple, take the fleet and bring it to our Caprica fleet base."
"Yes sir. What about repairs? We have taken some damage lately."
"You can do them while you make your way over to the colonies and they will also help you if there is something you can't do yourself. We are also shipping large amounts of drones to the storage facilities there."
"Yes sir, when are we scheduled to depart?"
"In four hours, we want you out there as soon as possible."
Colonial Government press room
Caprica City, Colony of Caprica
April 12
Both president Roslin and President Ryan walked up on the stage. Roslin was first to walk up to the microphones.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, members of the press, my fellow citizens." Roslin started. "Today at approximately 0400 hours Caprica city standard time several Dominion battle groups executed attacks on our evacuation efforts. This was a coordinated attack and therefore casualties are high. So far it seems that the attacks were meant to do damage and kill as much as possible in an as short as possible time. Early estimates are near the fifteen million dead and over forty transport ships gone. Therefore the evacuations are sped up and all means will be used to speed this up as long as it doesn't damage production or military operations."
"Our allies have once again given their support to us in these difficult times. As it is, President Ryan of the Tau'ri is here to reassure us all of their commitment to our survival."
"Thank you Madam President." Ryan said as he took his place in front of the microphones. "Again the Twelve Colonies have asked the Tau'ri Federation for help, and once again we give you our full support. As it is Tau'ri fleet units are heading for the colonies, these units include the Aurora fleet, the Third battleship squadron from Pegasus, the sixth, seventh and eight battleship squadrons and numerous cruiser fleets. Also underway are the first and fourteenth armies to support the eight army already here. The first and sixth marine divisions are underway from the midway station and more army units are on their way as well. Another twelve ZPM's have already been transferred to the central storage unit on Caprica for use in powering some of the advanced defenses. Furthermore, for over two years we've been helping the Colonial military with setting up a defense of this system, this includes an undisclosed amount of MBDP's. The Tau'ri Federation stands squarely behind the twelve colonies and we will do anything in our power to help you and see you survive this war."
"Over time our two nations have helped each other when necessary, the Second Cylon war, and the Wraith attack on Earth and during the Aschen wars. Our two nations are friends on every level imaginable and together with the other races in this galaxy we are undefeatable, that's for sure. The Tau'ri troops in this system will fight as if it were the Sol system and Earth's survival was on the line. With our help, the power of a single battlestar has increase a hundred times, by combining your Viper and Raptor designs with our fighter designs our fighter strength has quadrupled. United we stand together to face all our opponents and we will never back down to any foreign power trying to harm us, our friends or those who cannot defend themselves."
"I simply cannot stress enough how much we value the friendship between our two nations, how much we want to help you and see you survive what is coming to the colonies. Thank you all and know that you are in our hearts and minds."